5 New Jersey Devils prospects whose failure still baffles us

2. Tyce Thompson
11 NHL Games

Tyce Thompson is a player the Devils had high hopes for once they signed him to an NHL contract. He was immediately left on the NHL roster upon signing in 2021. The former fourth-round pick was amazing while at Providence College. He was a surprise Hobey Baker Award nominee as the best player in college hockey. 

He joined the Devils in March of 2021, and he immediately had to go into quarantine. He ended up playing seven games in the NHL that season, and he recorded his first NHL point, an assist. 

Thompson was expected to be a day-one member of the Devils in 2021-22. Then, he got hurt in the preseason. That’s fine. It was only supposed to be a small setback. Well, Thompson never truly hit his potential in New Jersey, playing just four games in the NHL over the next two seasons. Injuries led to ineffectiveness, and Thompson was eventually traded to the New York Islanders for Arnaud Durandeau.

Durandeau never turned into anything, and neither did Thompson. He’s still with the Islanders organization. His numbers keep dropping, with just 19 points last season in 66 games between the two organizations. Thompson needed a change of scenery, but it seems like that change didn’t really help.